1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to clamps for flexible tubes to control flow therethrough and, more particularly, to a clamp suitable for use with a catheter inserted into a human stomach through the adjacent abdominal wall.
Certain persons have the misfortune to be unable to take nutrition through their mouth intended to reach their stomachs. Such conditions can arise because of injury, because of growths along the route to the stomach, or because of neurological problems leading to impaired ability to swallow, or the like. Some of these people may benefit from having a catheter extending from outside the abdominal wall through both that wall and the stomach wall to extend into the stomach for providing nutrition directly to the stomach, i.e. a more or less permanent gastrostomy.
This can be done by placing a flexible tube, such as a latex tube, as a catheter through the abdominal wall and the stomach wall. Once such a catheter is in place, the portion of the tube extending outside the abdominal wall must have any material flows therethrough controlled. Typically, a clamp is used on the flexible tube to permit or deny flow therethrough as desired.
A desirable clamp for such a flexible tube in use for this purpose, or other direction liquid flow purpose, would be a single piece unit, in the sense that any piece parts therein cannot become separated, and would be operable through use of just one hand. Further, the clamping surface should be spread over a portion of the flexible tube to reduce or eliminate damage to, and fatigue of, the tube material which would otherwise be likely to occur from clamping confined to a single point.